Carr's Landing RoadHistorical Map Story Title

CARR'S LANDING ROAD – First established sometime prior to 1890, Carr's Landing Road begins at the junction of Commonage Road to the north, and ends at Okanagan Centre Road to the south. The road takes it name from an American Civil War Veteran, Andrew Carr, who was born in America in 1841.

Mr. Carr arrived in the Vernon area in or around 1891, his main intention being to buy land. In October of 1892 the Government auctioned off large parcels, a total of 25,114 acres, in the area we know today as The Commonage. It was here that Andrew Carr bought some land, in part of the Commonage known at that time as Sunnywold. Even though Carr bought the Sunnywold land in 1892, early records show that up until 1898 he was still residing in Vernon. However, three years later in 1901, a census indicates that Carr had moved onto his Sunnywold property.

During this time Andrew Carr became a Canadian Citizen in 1895 and his employment was listed as that of a farmer. Andrew Carr hired Swedish immigrant Joseph Hultman, a thirty year old labourer to help him run the farm. On November 20th 1901, Carr married a 42 year old widow, Agnes Kennedy, from London, Ontario. The couple were married at the home of J.W. Bailey, a very well known brick maker from the North Okanagan region. Two months after their marriage the Carrs moved onto their property which was located where the Coral Beach Farms are today. On the land they planted various types of fruit trees, and had a wharf built in front of their property. As a result, Carr’s Landing became a regular stop for the paddlewheelers which travelled up and down Okanagan Lake at that time, delivering mail and supplies. It was said that Andrew Carr would personally hand out the mail to those waiting on the wharf for the arrival of the paddlewheelers.

Andrew Carr left a legacy in this area in the naming of the road, however, records show that his stay in Carr's Landing was only for a very short duration as Carr died at the age of 68, in 1910, only nine years after his marriage. Agnes lived for another 31 years, passing away on April 25th 1941. Both the Carrs are buried in the Vernon Cemetery.

In 1911 a cross section of Okanagan Lake was surveyed in two places, one in an area off the park in Kelowna, and the other area between Carr's Landing and Fintry. The reason behind the surveying was to find an area to place telephone cables. The distance between Fintry and Carr's Landing was 10,100 ft, the deepest spot in that area being 538 feet, which was located approximately in the middle of the lake between Fintry & Carr's Landing. The soundings at that time indicated that the washings from Shorts' Creek extended along the bottom of the lake covering a distance of about 2000 feet. About a mile from that location the bottom of the lake was found to be a mix of white clay, then mud, sand and gravel right up to the shores at Carr's Landing. The shoreline today in Carr's Landing is mostly rocks, and a short distance into the water, we come across the clay.

Carr's Landing has changed over the past two decades, in that most of the shoreline is now built up with large homes, which have enormous decks stretching out into the Lake. The area has two wonderful parks, Kopje Park, which is owned by the Regional district and is home to the Gibson House, and Coral Beach Park, a well used area in the summer, and home to the Carr's Landing annual BBQ.

Today there are more permanent residents, resulting in a much higher traffic flow along Carr's Landing Road. Carr's Landing Road saw its first paving in 1977, a time when maybe only 20-30 cars were seen daily; today we see that many in an hour, more in the summer months.

Reference: Okanagan Historical Society, B.C. Archives, The Calendar June 9 2004, Penny Baughen & Lake Country Museum Archives